TODAY.AZ / Politics

Azerbaijani public reps rap French parliamentary leaders on pro-Armenian bias

01 January 2023 [14:40] - TODAY.AZ

By Fatima Hasanova

In response to the letter political leaders of the French Parliament sent to President Emmanuel Macron, Azerbaijani public representatives issued an appeal, Azernews reports.

In their statement, they emphasize that they are seriously worried about France's biased policy towards Azerbaijan, stressing that at the moment the reason for Azerbaijan's concern is the illegal exploitation of natural resources in Karabakh by Armenians.

"We regret to inform you that the outright slanderous and biased campaign carried out in recent years by various French political forces against the Azerbaijani state and people crossed all moral boundaries. This unfair campaign is disorienting the French public in regard to Azerbaijan, which causes serious concern for our people.

In fact, the reality is that in the territories of Azerbaijan, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent is temporarily stationed, our natural resources are being illegally exploited, and serious damage is being done to the environment. During the period of the occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia, war criminals - the former presidents of Armenia Kocharyan and Sargsyan - benefited from such illegal economic activities,” the appeal noted.

Members of the public also mentioned that Azerbaijan, for its part, refers only to proofs.

“At present, our natural resources are being exploited and natural resources are being exported to Armenia, and from there to other countries by Ruben Vardanyan, who is engaged in money laundering, drug, and weapons trafficking. We, unlike the French politicians who are conducting an anti-Azerbaijani slanderous campaign, refer to the facts. The reports and resolutions of the OSCE, the UN Development Program, the UN Environment Program, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe confirmed the facts of illegal economic activity and illegal exploitation of natural resources in our former occupied territories,” the document further said.

They also recalled the recent events on the Khankandi-Lachin road, where representatives of non-governmental organizations protested because Russian peacekeepers did not allow environmentalists from Azerbaijan to monitor the natural resources of Karabakh.

“Since the beginning of December, Azerbaijani specialists have been trying to gain access to the deposits in order to monitor them there due to the deterioration of the environmental situation, but they have encountered an aggressive reaction from local Armenian residents. Thus, the planned initial inspection and monitoring haven’t taken place. As a sign of protest, representatives of the civil society of Azerbaijan and environmentalists are holding a rally in the zone of temporary deployment of Russian peacekeepers, demanding an end to the illegal exploitation of our natural resources and environmental terror,” the authors emphasized.

The appeal pointed out that although the letter to the French president mentioned "ethnic cleansing," Armenia actually carried out genocide and ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis.

Under the appeal, some 20% of the Azerbaijani territories were occupied, and Azerbaijanis, who were victims of Armenia's aggressive policy, were driven from their historical lands. Over a million Azerbaijanis were forced to flee their homes and become internally displaced as a result. These facts are supported by the UN Security Council resolutions, which France also supported.

The appeal also suggested reading works by renowned French author Alexandre Dumas, such as "Journey to the Caucasus," to learn more about Azerbaijan and its people as well as their history and culture.

"In May 1918, the first democratic republic was established in the Muslim East - the Azerbaijani Democratic Republic, the independence of which was also recognized by Paris. French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau was one of the world leaders who supported the independence of Azerbaijan,” the appeal authors reminded.

“The entire archive of the Azerbaijani Democratic Republic is stored in the library of the Research Center for Central Europe, the Caucasus, and Russia of the Higher School of Social Sciences of France, and we invite French politicians who demonstrate a biased position to visit this library.”

In addition, the appeal claims that one of the first decisions made by the Azerbaijani parliament was to send young Azerbaijanis abroad to attend prestigious universities at the expense of the government during the 1919–20 academic year, with the majority going to France.

One of the most illustrious and enduring chapters in Azerbaijan's history, according to the appeal, is the Azerbaijanis' participation in the French Resistance Movement. The brothers Kirill and Alexander Makinski, Ahmadiya Jabrayilov, and many other Azerbaijani compatriots fought for it during the most trying times of the Nazis' occupation of France.

“The fact that today France is taking an unfair position towards Azerbaijan is also disrespectful for the Azerbaijanis who died for France. The visit of the head of the Provisional Government of France General de Gaulle to Baku on November 27, 1944, is remembered with satisfaction as a gesture of gratitude to the Azerbaijanis, who participated in the Resistance Movement,” the appeal stressed.

The appeal also mentioned that following Macron's re-election as president, he declared that the environment would be one of his main areas of focus. In this situation, it would be entirely consistent with French government policy to use its resources to combat environmental crimes committed by Armenians in Azerbaijani territory where a Russian peacekeeping force is currently stationed.

The authors of the appeal hoped that the president of France would put the interests of his nation's government before those of the Armenian community and the politicians who serve on its behalf and that he would support the secular, tolerant, and multicultural Azerbaijan's efforts to promote justice and peace in the area.

The standards and tenets of international law are tarnished by double standards. The appeal came to the conclusion that France also had a responsibility to respect and uphold the rules and principles of international law.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/politics/230137.html

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